# Boveda Seasoning+Glass Humidor advice plz



## Igor1080 (Nov 12, 2010)

I've purchased a humidor off of cheaphumidors.com and a couple of boveda seasoning packets. This is my first humidor and I am completely new to the craft of humidor maintenance. To start off I used a brand new sponge with distilled poland spring and wiped down the interior of the humidor and let the soaked sponge rest inside the humidor on top of a ziplock bag. The second day I wiped down the inside again and placed one of the boveda 84 rH bags inside, only to realized I may need two so I went ahead and placed another bag a couple of hours after purchasing one. 

Initially the useless analog hygrometer was reading high 80's close to 90. After I had finished calibrating the digital hygrometer I place it inside the humidor only to see that it was at a grand total of 75% rH. I got kind of annoyed so I put a shot glass of distilled water inside and it is now at 77%. 

I know you're supposed to wait 14 days with the boveda packets when seasoning but I was hoping I could cut that time down after I had wiped the interior down. Its been 3 days and its at a relatively high humidity considering the packets are supposed to take that long but honestly I just want to make sure that there arent any external issues I'm not aware of. 

How long am I realistically going to have to wait for the humi to get to 84 so that I could replace the boveda seasoning packets with regular 70% packets? My real concern is whether or not the glass top is potentially leaking humidity or perhaps the humidor itself is sub par? I'm not sure whether or not to be concerned but I prefer certainty when it comes to storing cigars as they obviously are worth a lot of money. I'd appreciate some advice from fellow BOTL.

cheaphumidors com/p_small-humidors_HUM-25-GLASS.html
This is the humidor I am currently using.


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## Igor1080 (Nov 12, 2010)

Help, anyone? Lol.


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## ptpablo (Aug 22, 2010)

At the top of this page accessory discussion is a thread how herf seasons a humidor, read and follow every word he says!!! it will never get to 84% and you shouldnt wipe the cedar with water!


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## veteranvmb (Aug 6, 2009)

Igor1080 said:


> Help, anyone? Lol.


 I didnt want to touch this one and let the experts chime in, but since you have not received any help I will chime in a bit. 
Even though the boveda seasoning is 84rh, its not meant to be the rh of your humdor. Most people shoot for somewhere between 63 and 70 rh for their humdors. 
The 84rh seasoning pack, is assuming a new humidor, where the wood is dry and needs the extra moisture to completely let the wood soak in all the moisture it need. Your rh is stabilized not by the air, but by the amount of moisture, going into and out of the wood. 
Once you are finally seasoned, put in the regular packs you talk about. Remember the packets in a wood humidor, will hold anywhere from 1 to 4 degrees less then stated on the packet, and will hold full rh, in a tupperware, on picnic basket , zip lock, environment. 
Oh by the way, use only distilled water, or you will risk bad mold problems. Get a gallon for a buck and a half at the supermarket.

I hope this helps. Plenty of information on this forum on what you need to know.

Much regards Jerry


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## ptpablo (Aug 22, 2010)

You want the cedar to absorb the moisture slowly. since you moisten it with a sponge i would take everything out and let it sit. see what it reads tonight or even tomorrow.


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## Igor1080 (Nov 12, 2010)

I've taken out the 84% seasoning packets and replaced them with regular 72% packets. So far its holding at 72 on the money. Hopefully it wont fluctuate when I put in cigars but I haven't ordered them yet so I'll monitor how steady the rH is for at least the next 7 days.


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## ptpablo (Aug 22, 2010)

you should expect it to drop a little, the packs like mentioned above, wont hold exactly 72. maybe 70 and when you put the cigars in they will absorb some to.so expect a little drop.


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## Igor1080 (Nov 12, 2010)

*Re: Boveda Seasoning+Glass Humidor advice*



ptpablo said:


> you should expect it to drop a little, the packs like mentioned above, wont hold exactly 72. maybe 70 and when you put the cigars in they will absorb some to.so expect a little drop.


That is perfectly acceptable. I hope it all goes to plan. My other concern is whats gonna happen when the temp goes way up in the summer, no idea what will happen then.


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## veteranvmb (Aug 6, 2009)

When it comes to humidor, patience is a big virtue. I learned the hard way, but trust me, slow is always the way to go. You have a benefit unlike the most of us, as not having the cigars yet. 
Your rh will almost assuredly go down, when you put the cigars in, but with the glass top, you will not have to open up to see the hygro . 
Just be patient. Did I say that already? 

Good luck, Jerry


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## ptpablo (Aug 22, 2010)

*Re: Boveda Seasoning+Glass Humidor advice*



Igor1080 said:


> That is perfectly acceptable. I hope it all goes to plan. My other concern is whats gonna happen when the temp goes way up in the summer, no idea what will happen then.


start reading up on freezing your stash!!! and dont keep that glass top in the sun!!! summers are rough! i keep my stash in the basement during the summer and freeze everything! hang around here this winter and you will have a winedor and about 300 stix by the summer, so no need to worry now!


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## Igor1080 (Nov 12, 2010)

Update: So the humi is at a steady 72% rH and 70 degrees in my room at the moment. I've put one cigar in there so far and its still the same, when I get the cigars I ordered I hope it will still be steady. I've come to find out that the so called useless analog hygrometer is actually reporting an accurate 71/72% rH which is funny considering everyone hates them.


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## StogieJim (Sep 18, 2010)

Yea I wouldnt sweat it, you'll be out of that humidor within a month 

I remember a few months ago when I got my first humi, I was sweating all the small stuff... Don't worry about it man, your humi is fine

If you didnt fully season it, it will season eventually, just might take longer if you have a bunch of sticks in there.

Gotta give it time to reach an equilibrium... Man I spent so many hours researching stuff, when in reality all I needed to do was charge the beads and relax 

Have fun with being a newb! I sure am!!

Jim


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## Igor1080 (Nov 12, 2010)

I know everyone says that I'll be looking for a bigger humi but in all honesty I know myself and this 50ct desktop is all I'll ever buy. Its not something I want to sink crazy money in because I'm still a student in college and we all know how that is. I can hold myself to the 50 or so single sticks that I can fit inside this humidor and be fine with that because I very highly doubt I will ever buy a box. That is unless the 17 singles I just purchased will bring me further and further into obsession.


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## StogieJim (Sep 18, 2010)

Igor1080 said:


> I know everyone says that I'll be looking for a bigger humi but in all honesty I know myself and this 50ct desktop is all I'll ever buy. Its not something I want to sink crazy money in because I'm still a student in college and we all know how that is. I can hold myself to the 50 or so single sticks that I can fit inside this humidor and be fine with that because I very highly doubt I will ever buy a box. That is unless the 17 singles I just purchased will bring me further and further into obsession.


Lol, how many people have said these exact words... :yo:

I got into it about 2 months ago... bought a 75 count and said, there is NO WAY I can fill this thing up, " I know myself....etc, etc..."

Well I have a very full humi, a coolerdor that is slowly filling, and plans on getting a bigger cooler very soon 

Its fun man, and yea, if you hang around here, you better take on a part time job


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## Firedawg (Nov 8, 2010)

Igor1080 said:


> I know everyone says that I'll be looking for a bigger humi but in all honesty I know myself and this 50ct desktop is all I'll ever buy. Its not something I want to sink crazy money in because I'm still a student in college and we all know how that is. I can hold myself to the 50 or so single sticks that I can fit inside this humidor and be fine with that because I very highly doubt I will ever buy a box. That is unless the 17 singles I just purchased will bring me further and further into obsession.


Goodluck with that! lol You will be gutting that college dorm room fridge in no time and making a humi out of that this spring! Enjoy your smokes!


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## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

Igor1080 said:


> I know everyone says that I'll be looking for a bigger humi but in all honesty I know myself and this 50ct desktop is all I'll ever buy. Its not something I want to sink crazy money in because I'm still a student in college and we all know how that is. I can hold myself to the 50 or so single sticks that I can fit inside this humidor and be fine with that because I very highly doubt I will ever buy a box. That is unless the 17 singles I just purchased will bring me further and further into obsession.


Hehe, I've been smoking cigars for almost 20 years. I had only bought one box in my entire life (I like Ashtons and they are expensive) and usually only buy singles 4-5 at a time. Since I was going to start experimenting with different cigars and would want a variety and 2 or 3 of each, I bought a nice glass top 75-100 cigar humi and thought I'd never fill it. Well, since I've bought a couple samplers, and now that I've found a few cheaper brands that I like and bought and will be buying a few boxes and bundles of them, after only a month I am already in the market for a second humi. The only question is what size- for right now I think a smaller 50 stick humi as my everyday humi would work while using my current humidor for longer term storage, but realistically, seeing how fast I outgrew it, I'll probably fill whatever I buy and I should probably use my current humi as my daily humi and get a 250 or 300 stick humidor for long term storage. As for not being rich, I'm a teacher. If you do some experimenting you'll probably find some cheaper brands you like and you'll be able to fill that humidor in no time.

All that is to say, don't make any assumptions. You'd be surprised how fast that thing fills up, especially if you are doing some experimentation to see what brands you like. Heck, even if you limit yourself to one or two brands and blends, you'll probably want variety. You'll need more than one size depending upon where you will be smoking: inside or outside (trust me, when it is below 40 degrees, or over 90, you won't want to smoke a Churchill outdoors), how much time you have, who you are with, etc. You may also want to start keeping some cheaper cigars around to give to non-cigar smoking friends who visit and want a cigar with you to be social.


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## Jeff10236 (Nov 21, 2010)

Oh, as for seasoning, when you have a new humidor fill your humidifier with distilled water, fill a small glass or bowl with distilled water and microwave it then put that in your humidor as well. Let it sit for a week or two and it should be nicely seasoned. As others have said, never wipe it down. You could warp the wood, you could discolor it, and there are a number of other problems you could develop.


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## Athion (Jul 17, 2010)

As for the Analog Hygro... even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and again  LOL 

on the size of the Humi... Ive been "into" cigars less than a year, and on this site for like 4 months... I've never bought a box, and I've only bought more than 5 cigars at a time once... and I have outgrown my original 50ct Glasstop Humi  

Its REALLY easy to do


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## StogieJim (Sep 18, 2010)

Also, remember the "count" capacity for a cigar humidor is for petit coronas.

A 50 count usually will only fit 25-35 cigars of robusto size or bigger...

My 75 count is pretty much maxed out at 50 smokes

Jim


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## BillyVoltaire (Jun 23, 2009)

I figured this out the hard way by trying to fit two boxes of big fat torpedos in there. The first one fit, second one didn't even get started. That is when I got my coolidor going...

BV



StogieJim said:


> Also, remember the "count" capacity for a cigar humidor is for petit coronas.
> 
> Jim


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## StogieJim (Sep 18, 2010)

BillyVoltaire said:


> I figured this out the hard way by trying to fit two boxes of big fat torpedos in there. The first one fit, second one didn't even get started. That is when I got my coolidor going...
> 
> BV


I too learned that the hard way man, thats why I thought I'd give the OP a heads up before this happened --------> :sad:

Great reason to start a coolerdor though!


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## asmartbull (Aug 16, 2009)

And you too will out grow the basic cooler
Get the 150 qt marine cooler for 89.00 at wally world.
You can put 5-6 shelves in it,,,,Good for 35 boxes..


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